1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to buildings that store large objects such as airplanes and farm, marine, and other heavy equipment, and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation to doors for such buildings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Buildings that store large objects such as airplanes and farm, marine, and other heavy equipment require large doors that enable the convenient ingress and egress of the airplanes and equipment. The large size of doors required for such buildings pose many design challenges. The doors must operate quickly and efficiently, they must be large, but also structurally sound in that they do not display sagging or bowing in either the open or closed positions. In addition, due to their large nature, the doors must also be designed to resist wind in both the open and closed positions. A particular design used in large storage buildings is a one-piece tilt-up door.
One-piece tilt-up door designs solve many of the problems that doors of large storage facilities encounter. However, in the industry several challenges are still faced by tilt-up door designs. Because the door itself must be large, the drive system to open and close the tilt-up door tends to be complicated. The drive system of tilt-up doors used in large storage applications tend to have multiple drivers that have to be synched in order to open or close the door. Having multiple drivers add complexity and cost to the construction and operation of a tilt-up door design. In addition, the guide system used to tilt the door in a tilt-up door design is often complicated requiring precise manufacturing and precluding fabrication on site. Finally, due to their large nature, the door in a tilt-up door design requires a safety mechanism to prevent unwanted closing of the door.
Accordingly, a large one-piece tilt-up door that is easy to assemble, allows fabrication on site, is efficient and simple in design, and prevents the unwanted closing of the door would be beneficial.